Strengthening Pharmaceutical Systems. 2012. How to Investigate Antimicrobial Use in Hospitals: Selected Indicators. Published for the U.S. Agency for International Development by the Strengthening Pharmaceutical Systems Program. Arlington, VA: Management Sciences for Health.

Abstract

The purpose of this manual is to define a limited number of indicators that will objectively describe the management and use of antimicrobials in hospitals and to provide tools and step-by-step instructions for designing and carrying out an assessment of antibiotic use and management in hospitals. The indicators in this manual will complement the existing WHO (1993) indicators of outpatient antimicrobial use suggested in How to Investigate Drug Use in Health Facilities (including percentage of encounters in which an antibiotic was prescribed and percentage of medicine costs spent on antibiotics) and will address the need for antimicrobial indicators for inpatient conditions. The manual will follow the pattern of previous Rational Pharmaceutical Management Plus Program assessment guides and the WHO publication by presenting a limited number of indicators useful for screening, monitoring, and assessing impact. Because these indicators do not need adaptation and can be used in any indicator-based antimicrobial use study, they provide a simple tool for quickly and reliably evaluating critical aspects of antimicrobial use in hospitals. A supplemental indicator of the use of sensitivity testing is also presented, but it may have limited application because of limitations in laboratory services.